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http://lap.umd.edu/lapfolder/people/kent_norman/index.html

Computer Rage: Exploring Distributions of Frustration

Abstract

This presentation will discuss the results of an online survey on computer frustration and rage looking particularly at the 1050 U.S. respondents out of a total set of 2100 respondents. Significant levels of rage are reported are reported by the respondents. Nearly 80% have cursed their computers, 60% have bent or mutilated a computer disk and intentionally scratched or bent a CD ROM; 37% have popped keys off of keyboards, 20% have slammed a keyboard hard enough to break it; and 18% have kicked a computer hard enough to break it or leave a dent. High levels of frustration are reported as a result of the computer crashing, having to wait for the computer, trying to figure out how to do something, having to redo something, and trying to get help from help systems or help desks. Distributions of responses on a number of the scales are clearly not distributed according to the normal distribution, but show unique patterns of skew, bimodality, and end-anchor effects. For example, while a large number of the respondents (as many as 20%) will select the highest level of frustration (9 on the 9-point scale), very few will select the next lower level of frustration (8). This indicates that when users get frustrated, they get totally frustrated and can be prime candidates for computer rage.

Multimedia Learning

Abstract

A multimedia instructional message is a presentation containing words and pictures that is intended to foster learning. Examples include narrated animations, annotated illustrations, interactive simulations, and educational games. In this presentation, Dr. Mayer will summarize ten research-based principles for the design of multimedia instructional messages. For each principle, he will provide examples, summarize the research evidence, and relate the principle to a cognitive science model of learning.

Biography

Richard E. Mayer is Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) where he has served since 1975. He received a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Michigan in 1973, and served as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology at Indiana University from 1973 to 1975. His research interests are in educational and cognitive psychology. His current research involves the intersection of cognition, instruction, and technology with a special focus on multimedia learning. He is past-President of the Division of Educational Psychology of the American Psychological Association, former editor of the Educational Psychologist and former co-editor of Instructional Science, former Chair of the UCSB Department of Psychology, and the year 2000 recipient of the E. L. Thorndike Award for career achievement in educational psychology. He was ranked #1 as the most productive educational psychologist for 1991-2001 (Contemporary Educational Psychology, vol. 28, pp. 422-430). He is on the editorial boards of 10 journals mainly in educational psychology. He is the author of 18 books and more than 250 articles and chapters, including Multimedia Learning (2001), E-Learning and the Science of Instruction (2003) with Ruth Clark, and Learning and Instruction (2003).